At the IWGA Annual General Meeting in Esslingen (GER) IFA Secretary General Chris Oberlehner signed the so called IWGA-IF commitment confirming the competition venue and competition days of Fistball at The World Games 2025. The Fistball event will take place from Saturday 9th of August 2025 to Wednesday 13th of August. The women´s and the men´s gold medal match will both be played on Wednesday 13th of August.

Venue: Tianfu Park
After several changes of venue, we are pleased to announce that we will be playing our matches in Tianfu Park.

“We are very glad that we could have been fixed the competition venue during the stay of Competition Manager Sönke Spille and IFA Sports Commission Chairman Gastao Englert some weeks ago in Chengdu”, said IFA Secretary General Chris Oberlehner after signing the formal commitment in Esslingen. “We are more than satisfied with the venue proposed, and we have full confidence that it will be a remarkable event at the heart of a dynamic community.”

The 12th edition of The World Games will be held in Chengdu (CHN) from 7-17 August 2025.

Despite Chengdu being Sichuan province’s capital with an estimated population of close to 20 million citizens, the distances between each venue at peak traffic time and from/to the Athletes Villages and the official hotels is a maximum of 60 minutes.

New logo of the 12th edition of The World Games revealed

In December 2023, the Chengdu 2025 LOC initiated an international contest to create the logo, mascot and slogan of The World Games 2025, calling for designers’ ideas globally. Worldwide contributions ran until the end of February 2024.

A total of 9,235 (national and international) submissions were received from national and foreign applicants, a testament of the world’s creativity to develop the visual identity of the International World Games Association (IWGA) flagship event next year. The submissions breakdown unfolds as follows: 3,562 logo ideas received, 1,924 mascot creations and 3,749 slogans.

The Chengdu 2025 mascot and slogan will be unveiled at the ‘One Year to Go’ event in August 2024.

We would like to inform that Franz P. Iten has resigned from his position as Treasurer for personal reasons. The IFA board meeting on April 7, 2024 decided that the day-to-day business would be temporarily managed by the Secretary General.

IFA President Jörn Verleger: “I would like to thank Franz for his work and his commitment to IFA. We have always greatly appreciated his work and his sports policy experience. Franz wanted to give up his position already at the IFA 2023 Congress and we were able to persuade you, dear Franz, to complete the 2023 annual financial statements to be completed. Thank you for your many years of service as IFA Treasurer and all the best for the future. I am proud and happy to have you as a friend of Fistball and as a member of the IFA Board of Directors since 2015. You deserve honor and recognition for your services to IFA.”

Terrible pictures have reached us from Brazil in the last few days. Persistent heavy rainfall in the state of Rio Grande do Sul and in the southern part of the state of Santa Catarina has led to severe flooding, landslides and bridge collapses with an increasing number of fatalities since the beginning of the week. Thousands of houses and infrastructure have been damaged; many roads are currently interrupted or impassable.

“The state, Rio Grande do Sul, home of the well-known Fistball clubs Sogipa Punhobol and Novo Hamburgo Ginástica, is facing its worst natural disaster in recent history. Please support our Fistball friends in Brazil in their unprecedented work by making a donation under https://www.vakinha.com.br/4749899”, says IFA President Jörn Verleger.

Karlsruhe, becoming the first city to organise the multi-sport event twice since its inception.

A proven host with a strong track record, Germany has hosted the 3rd edition of The World Games in 1989 in Karlsruhe and the 7th edition in 2005 in Duisburg, as well as countless other major international sporting events.

After nomination by the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB), the south-western German city, located at the heart of Europe near the French border, will host the IWGA flagship event in the summer of 2029, 40 years after it organised TWG 1989.

Following a bidding process and careful consideration by the IWGA Executive Committee, the delegates ratified the Executive Committee’s recommendation. The announcement was made in Esslingen (GER) at the International World Games Association (IWGA) Annual General Meeting on 1 May 2024.

IFA President Jörn Verleger: “The Fistball family has fond memories of the 1989 edition in Karlsruhe and we look forward to developing plans for Fistball in our core market of Germany.”

The next edition of The World Games will be held in the period 7-17 August 2025 in Chengdu, CHN.

The IFA U18 Fistball World Championships will take place in Switzerland in July 2026. The event will be hosted by Swiss Fistball and organized by the Turnverein STV Vordemwald at the sports complex in Reiden (canton of Lucerne). The European Women’s Fistball Championships will also be held at the same time.

When the best U18 national male and female youth teams come together in Llanquihue (Chile) in October/November, everyone involved can expect the biggest U18 Fistball World Championship of all time with a total of 18 teams. The future of the competition has also been decided early on. The next Youth World Championship will take place in Switzerland in 2026. The U18 Fistball World Championship will be held at the sports complex in Reiden in July 2026. The event will be hosted by Swiss Fistball with local organizer Turnverein STV Vordemwald. This was decided unanimously by the Board of Directors of the International Fistball Association (IFA) at its most recent meeting. But that’s not all: the European Women’s Championships will also be held at the same time as the U18 World Championships – guaranteeing a double fistball spectacle in just one place. “Even though the event is still over two years away, the excitement is already huge,” says IFA President Jörn Verleger, looking ahead.”

Turnverein STV Vordemwald: Early start to planning

The World Championships are scheduled to take place from July 23 to 26, 2026, and the Turnverein STV Vordemwald has been planning the event since last summer. “In addition to its sporting activities, the Turnverein STV Vordemwald has organized a major event from time to time in the past,” says Luca Flückiger, who chairs the organizing committee as president: “After the planned gymnastics festival in 2020 could not take place, the club was keen to start planning a new major event. As it had been a while since a major fistball event had taken place, with the preliminary rounds of the 1999 Men’s World Championship, it should now be an event in this area again,” says the former Swiss national fistball player. The decision to bid for the U18 World Championships and the Women’s European Championships was made very quickly.

The sports complex in Reiden, just a few minutes away from Vordemwald, will serve as the venue. A total of three match fields are to be built on the existing grass fields, including a center court with mobile stands. Flückiger: “We are delighted to have been awarded the IFA and EFA for the two events and are already highly motivated to organize a great event for the athletes and all fistball and sports fans from near and far in Reiden in two years.”

Support from Swiss Faustball

The club received support for its bid from the Swiss Fistball Association. “By bidding for and hosting the IFA 2026 U18 Women’s & Men’s World Championship, Swiss Faustball wants to support the initiative of the Turnverein STV Vordemwald to organize the largest junior competition at international level on the one hand and, on the other, to offer the world’s U18 national fistball teams women and men a perfectly organized world championship in junior fistball in 2026 that is both qualitative and fistball-friendly, and thus at the same time a platform for viewing and competition,” says Franco Giori, President of Swiss Faustball: “The sport of fistball should thus be promoted and experienced particularly in Switzerland, but also worldwide. I am very proud and pleased about the trust that the IFA has placed in Swiss Fistball and the organizer Turnverein STV Vordemwald by awarding the U18 World Championships.”

Joint event with Women’s European Championship as highlight

The International Fistball Association is delighted to be able to present a host for the U18 World Championship at such an early stage. “The Turnverein STV Vordemwald actively approached us last autumn and signaled its interest in organizing the event,” says IFA President Jörn Verleger: “Over the past few months, Swiss Fistball and STV have gone through our application process, which also included an evaluation of the application documents by a jury. The fact that the planning is already so far advanced at this early stage has impressed everyone.” In particular, the combination of the U18 World Championship and the Women’s European Championship as a joint event is a great idea that will bring many fistball enthusiasts together. Verleger: “We are convinced that we will experience a great event with the U18 World Championship and the Women’s European Championship, which will strengthen the sport of fistball in the long term.”

Join us in celebrating Play True Day on 19 April 2024.

On 19 April 2024 WADA invites the global anti-doping community to take part in the digital campaign.

More: https://www.wada-ama.org/en/play-true-day-assets

The SportAccord World Sport & Business Summit 2024 came to an end on Friday after an inspiring week. The IFA used the conference of world sports federations for numerous meetings and fruitful discussions with various players from the world of sport, such as the IOC, WADA, IWGA and numerous providers of services for sporting events.

“A big thank you to our great hosts Birmingham City Council & West Midlands and all the amazing volunteers who helped make SportAccord 2024 such a success! We would also like to thank AIMS for the opportunity to use the joint AIMS stand for our activities and discussions in Birmingham,” said IFA President Jörn Verleger.

More than 1,700 participants from 65 different countries traveled to the UK from all over the world to experience a packed program of high-level sessions, conferences, exhibitions, networking and social events at the International Convention Centre.
Topics of discussion and debate ranged from sustainability, innovative technology, fan engagement and new event models to governance, esports and athlete wellbeing.
An engaging program of networking events, supported by the passion of local volunteers, at a state-of-the-art venue in a region with a rich sporting heritage, provided a perfect platform to make connections, strengthen relationships and explore new ideas.

“Birmingham and the West Midlands have provided an ideal platform for sport to bring together international federations, the International Olympic Committee, rights holders, businesses, cities and regions – the whole sporting family,” said SportAccord President Prof Dr Uğur Erdener

The 2024 Men’s and Women’s World Tour Finals will take place in Mannheim: From July 18 to 21, 2024, the fistball scene will thus return to the venue of the 2023 Fistball World Championship. A total of 16 teams from four countries will take part over the four days of the event.

When the best fistball club teams in the world meet in July 2024, fistball fans are likely to be reminded of the summer of 2023. The Rhine-Neckar Stadium, the venue for the men’s Fistball World Championship, will host the top eight men’s and top eight women’s teams. The 2024 World Tour Final will be organized by the Förderverein Faustball² and VfR Mannheim.

“The discussions about hosting the event in Mannheim have been consistently positive with everyone involved,” says Sönke Spille, Head of Events at the International Fistball Association (IFA): “Everyone in Mannheim still has great memories of the World Championship. We are all the more pleased that the best club teams can now benefit from the optimal conditions around the Rhein-Neckar Stadium.” All matches will be played in the Rhein-Neckar Stadium, which has a capacity of up to 5,000 spectators for the fistball event. There are no plans for an additional grandstand like at the Fistball World Championships; instead, the covered seating grandstand will provide the ideal setting for the center court. “Floodlit matches are also possible in the stadium, which can once again provide a very special flair for the top matches,” says Spille.

“We enjoyed the warm and great atmosphere at the Fistball World Championships over the days in the Rhein-Neckar Stadium,” says Boris Scheuermann, President of VfR Mannheim. The traditional club is known for its success in soccer and its intensive youth work. The men’s team currently plays in the Baden Oberliga. Although the club does not have a fistball department, the VfR managers were inspired by a certain enthusiasm for fistball during the World Championships. “During the World Championship, we had the idea of once again hosting a fistball event in our stadium,” says Scheuermann: “We are delighted that it worked out so quickly and that we will be able to welcome the best club teams from all over the world to Mannheim in July 2024.”

The city of Mannheim is also very much looking forward to welcoming another international fistball event to the city of squares. “I am delighted that the hosting of the finals will further strengthen Mannheim’s reputation as the capital of fistball after last year’s successful World Championships,” said Mannheim’s sports mayor Ralf Eisenhauer.
“It’s great that we are back in Germany after the premiere event in Vaihingen/Enz in 2018,” says Christoph Oberlehner, IFA General Secretary. The first edition of the new World Cup format took place in Vaihingen/Enz five years ago. In 2019, the best club teams in the world were then hosted in Salzburg (Austria) before the final event fell victim to the coronavirus pandemic twice in a row. The IFA relaunched the event in October 2022 in Curitiba, where also the fourth edition was held last October.

The field of participants for the 2024 World Tour Finals has now also been finalized. In addition to defending champion and the winner of the 2023 World Tour, SG Novo Hamburgo (Brazil), TSV Pfungstadt (Germany), SOGIPA/Cargo Way (Brazil), Union Tigers Vöcklabruck, UFG Sparkasse Grieskirchen/Pötting, DSG UKJ Froschberg, AWN TV Enns (all Austria) and the Mannheim club TV Käfertal will also be competing in the men’s competition.

The women’s field will be led by defending champions TV Jahn Schneverdingen (Germany). They will be joined by TSV Dennach (Germany), SOGIPA/Cargo Way, Clube Duque de Caxias (both Brazil), FG Elgg-Ettenhausen (Switzerland), Faustball Kreuzlingen, SVD Diepoldsau-Schmitter (all Switzerland) and FBC Linz-Urfahr (Austria).

The IFA is pleased to announce the release of the approved fistballs from April 1, 2024. With a choice of five ball manufacturers – Sportastic, Ludwig, Drohnn, Errea and HAWE – we can offer our athletes a wide range of high quality balls.

This selection of approved fistballs is in line with our commitment to continuously improve the standards and quality of the game. Extensive testing and trials have confirmed that all approved fistballs meet quality and performance standards. Athletes can therefore rest assured that every ball is a reliable tool for exciting and fair games.

We would like to express our thanks to Sportastic, Ludwig, Drohnn, Errea and HAWE for their continuous work and commitment to our sport!

List of approved Fistballs valid from 1 April 2024: DOWNLOAD